Sometimes, life’s twists and turns can cause a little damage to your plushie. In today’s case, the seams gave way to an opening in the neck area. Fortunately, this kind of trouble is easy to fix! With only a thread and a needle, you can make your stuffed animal brand new again!
DAMAGE IDENTIFICATION
The stuffed elephant below has a large opening in the neck. A thread has popped out without us knowing why, and if we don’t do something about it, the more it’s handled, the more the thread will continue to detach from the fabric, and eventually decapitate the stuffed elephant. Thus, we need to repair the opening with a brand-new seam!
CHOOSE THE LADDER STITCH
Also known as the invisible stitch, it allows you to sew without thread showing. It is designed to hide the stitches on the backside/inside. This is a great technique for closing seams and repairing holes on right sides (see the drawing). All you need is a sewing thread in the same color as the fabric, a pair of scissors and a needle.
REPAIR THE OPENING
Hide the knot by starting from the inside, a few centimeter/inches away from the opening. From the bottom (the body), join the top (the neck) by going horizontally through the fabric (first photo), then insert the needle into the bottom (third photo), directly across from where the thread came out on the previous stitch, and so on until you reach the part of the thread that is still attached. Sew over it to secure it. Try to keep a consistent stitch length. Then, tie a sturdy double knot, hide it in the fur using a needle, and also take out the fur that might be stuck
The stuffed elephant now has a good head on its shoulders!